Reliable equipment requires reliable electricity. The District Computer Center recommends each computer be plugged into a surge protector or an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) to help protect against fluctuations in the power grid. You may plug more than one computer into a surge protector but each surge protector should plug directly into a wall outlet. You should not plug a surge protector into another surge protector, power bar, uninterruptable power supply (UPS), or extension cord. (This is against fire code and will invalidate many surge protector warranties.) To prevent circuit overloads, you should not plug more than 3-4 computers (or other appliances) into a single electrical circuit. There are usually several electrical outlets on each circuit. If you have questions regarding the electrical capacity of circuits at your site we suggest you contact the electricians at the NPS Central Services Center prior to ordering and connecting your new equipment. A few manufacturers of quality surge protectors are listed below in alphabetic order. Some of them also manufacture uninterruptable power supplies (UPS) that can provide limited power to your equipment in the event of power failures. These and other manufacturers offer several models and you generally get what you pay for. You may not feel the need to spend a lot of money to protect an older computer. On the other hand, a mission-critical system may be worth a greater investment. For more information on selecting an appropriate surge protector, click here. For a list of technology vendors - some of whom sell surge protectors - click here. |